Seedy Spinach Pesto
I love greens, especially dark leafy greens. Since the beginning of the year I set myself a goal to eat as much variety as possible in a week- that means, as many different whole foods/ingredients, doesn’t matter the quantity. The best way to do this was by making smoothies, and any pastes/sauces that required a plethora of ingredients.
I make pasta weekly without a fail, it’s one of my favourite carbs. I thought creating a ‘non-traditional’ take on pesto would be the best way to get a bunch of nuts/seeds in as well as a massive helping of greens.
This recipe calls for loads of fresh baby spinach- you can also used thawed blanched spinach, or a mix of dark leafy greens of your choice that you can blanche just like in the recipe method.
Tip: If your seeds/nuts aren’t toasted, place them in a cold pan. Turn the heat up to medium and toss regularly until golden. The seeds will ooze out some of their oils and some will crackle. Once ready, transfer to a bowl and let cool down.
Prep/cooking time: 10-15 minutes
Ingredients
300g Fresh baby spinach
2 tbsps toasted sunflower seeds
2 tbsps toasted pumpkin seeds
2 tbsps toasted sesame seeds
1/4 cup (28g) toasted pine nuts
2 tbsps Nutritional Yeast
3/4 - 1 cup (159g-215g) extra virgin olive oil
Method
1. Bring a pot full of salted water to the boil. Add the spinach and blanche for 1-2 minutes until wilted.
2. Drain in a sieve, let cool, then wring out any excess water from the spinach. Set aside.
3. Add the toasted seeds, pine nuts and nutritional yeast into your food processor or blender. Blend until the mixture becomes a sandy texture.
4. Add the spinach and half the oil to the seeds, blend until fully mixed. Blend more of the oil into the mixture until you obtain a creamy mixture. Scrape the sides of the blender or food processor so everything is thoroughly incorporated.
5. Line a clean jar with some remaining olive oil, then add the pesto into the jar. Coat the top of the pesto in the jar with olive oil; this will create a barrier between the pesto and oxygen helping to preserve it and not letting it oxidise. If stored correctly, the pesto lasts for up to 2.5 weeks.
Mafaldine with Seedy Spinach Pesto
prep/cooking time: 10-15 mins
Serves: 2-3 people
Ingredients
Seedy spinach pesto (as much as you would like, I use around 3-4 heaping tbsps)
250g mafaldine (you can use any pasta shape you would like)
40g Parmesan, grated finely
salt, pepper
Method
1. In a pot of boiling salted water cook the pasta 1 minute under al dente.
2. When the pasta is 1 minutes under, Scoop out 1 cup of pasta cooking liquid and set aside. Drain the pasta and add it back into the saucepan.
3. To the pasta, add as much pesto as you would like and a quarter of the pasta cooking water, mix until the pesto emulsifies into the water. Turn the heat up to high, tossing the mix constantly to properly coat each individual pasta with the sauce. If the sauce is too thick add more pasta cooking water until it is to your desired consistency. Stir in more pesto if needed.
4. Take the pasta off the heat, and stir in the grated cheese, little by little. The sauce will thicken and become creamy. If it’s too thick, stir in some more pasta water until it reaches your desired consistency. Taste and season with salt and pepper, serve immediately whilst hot.